By now, even the most casual offshore powerboat racing fans know that Miss GEICO prevailed over the CMS to take the Superboat Unlimited title during the Super Boat International Key West Offshore World Championships earlier this month. Most also know that both GEICO’s 44-foot Victory catamaran and the 48-foot Marine Technology, Inc., catamaran fielded by the CMS were powered by Mercury Racing 1650 Race engines, and that each team came into Sunday’s winner-take-all contest with a first-place finish earlier in the week.

For Granet and Begovich, Miss GEICO’s victory on Sunday meant a lot more than taking a world title. Photo courtesy/copyright Andy Neumann/TDC.

Less common knowledge is that neither team was particularly thrilled with the way the other had competed in the first two races heading into finale. Hard words were exchanged—as in all sports involving fiercely competition individuals such things happen and are not necessarily “bad” or “negative”—after Friday’s race, and by the time Miss GEICO’s Scott Begovich and Marc Granet squared off against Bob Bull and Randy Scism in CMS on Sunday both teams were more than ready do battle again. But CMS broke after a few hotly contested laps and the rest, as they say, was history.

What most offshore racing fans probably don’t know is that for Begovich and Granet the title meant a lot more than beating two of today’s finest offshore racers. It meant getting the monkey—deserved or not—off their backs of having been successful in offshore racing simply because they rarely competed against anyone during their Turbine-class years.

Caught by Andy Neumann of the Monroe County Tourism Development Council, the image above captures Granet basking in the much deserved and much-appreciated moment. Congratulations to everyone involved with Miss GEICO, from speedonthewater.com.

Editor’s Note: For the all the high and lows of the 2013 SBI Key West Offshore World Championship, download the latest issue of Speed On The Water digital magazine now at no charge by clicking here.